Picket Fence
by Kaylan
Summary: Jenny puts right a wrong that she has lived w/for ten years. Her marriage.


Author: Sara Dupras  
Email: starlit_kit@hotmail.com  
Title: Picket Fence  
Part: 1/1  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers:FG  
Disclaimers: The Forbidden Game trilogy belongs solely to L.J. Smith. As do the characters and concepts contained therein.   
Summary: Jenny puts right a wrong that she has lived with for ten years. Her marriage.  
Submission:  
8:00 a.m.  
  
The sunlight poured through the window and pooled on Jenny Locke's face. She groaned at the thought of yet another day and kept her eyes closed. She knew from past experience that she could pretend for a few minutes that this wasn't her life. But after those precious moments full consciousness would come crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.  
  
And then there could be no denying it. Sighing, she opened her eyes to a familiar scene. Tom was sitting up staring at her. He smiled and said, "Good morning, hon."  
  
Jenny stifled a sigh. "Good morning." She looked back at him as he continued to gaze at her. Christ. Tom had made it a habit to watch his wife as she slept in the morning. For the first three years it had been cute. Now she just wanted to cut his eyes out.  
  
Suddenly, his eyes crinkled and he leaned in for a kiss. Jenny was bombarded by morning breath and choked. Tom looked down at her in alarm.  
  
"Are you all right, Jenny?"  
  
"Um, yeah. Just my asthma acting up again is all."  
  
He frowned slightly and said, "I'll go get you a glass of water."   
  
Jenny watched him leave and wondered how a glass of water was supposed to make her breathe better. She shrugged and got out of bed. It didn't really matter considering the asthma wasn't even a real ailment for her.  
  
Stretching, she stopped in front of the window. Sitting on a tree branch a few feet away was a blue jay. She smiled and watched as it landed on the ground, searching for food. She was so intent on the bird that she never saw the cat coming.   
  
She gasped as the cat pounced on the bird. She watched for five seconds as the bird struggled for life and turned away as the cat ate it's breakfast. Her sour mood was making a fast come back.  
  
A movement caught her eye and she glanced at the bed. "Why don't you ever go away? The last thing I need right now is yet another lecture from you."  
  
Julian was leaning back against a couple of pillows scrutinizing the bedspread. He looked up and arching an eyebrow asked, "Chenille?"  
  
Jenny said indignantly, "There's nothing wrong with chenille."  
  
"Yeah, if it's a sweater."  
  
Grounding her teeth, she picked up a hairbrush and ran it through her hair with short, jerky movements. "Okay, Martha Stewart. Anything else about my home you'd like to criticize?"  
  
"Just your husband."  
  
"I don't want to hear it."  
  
Julian sat up and smiled cruelly. "I mean come on, Thorny, our little athlete is becoming a mascot for Idaho."  
  
"It's just a little beer gut," she said defensively. "I think it's cute."  
  
He threw back his head and laughed. "My God, Jenny, cute? If you're going to lie about it, you need to be a little more subtle than that. What is it exactly that you find cute? The fact that Tom's rolls can do a better wave than sport spectators?"  
  
She slammed the brush down on the table, "At least Tom-". She stopped in mid-sentence as she realized he'd already vanished.  
  
Tom came back into the room a couple of minutes later with the glass of water. He stopped as he noticed that she was staring at the bed. She looked rooted to the spot where she was standing. "Is something wrong?"  
  
Startled, she jumped. Shaking her head, she said, "No. I'm just famished." She winced a second later as she realized what she'd said.   
Tom gave her a quick hug. "I'll go start breakfast."  
  
She followed Tom out of the room. She slowed and looked back over her shoulder. Still empty. She rubbed her forehead and wondered at her sanity.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~   
12:15 p.m.  
  
Jenny looked up from her menu as Audrey and Dee sat down at the table. Dee flashed a smile, saying, "Sorry we're late but we had a hell of a time getting all the customers out."  
  
"So business is good?"  
  
Audrey looked a little smug. "It's better than good, Jenny, it's absolutely booming."  
  
Jenny gave a distracted smile and returned to her menu. Audrey and Dee exchanged a look. "Jenny," Audrey continued, "where the hell did you get that outfit that you're wearing?"  
  
She looked up in surprise. "What? Oh, I don't know Tom got it for me."  
  
Dee snorted. "That figures. Tom's the only person I know that could find a dress suit in flannel."  
  
Jenny pressed her mouth into a thin line. "It's cold outside."  
  
Dee shook her head. "It's not that cold out."  
  
Audrey cleared her throat and gestured at the approaching waitress. Jenny waited until the woman had taken their orders before she said, "You know I really don't appreciate your comments. Especially since I didn't ask for your opinion."  
  
"I'm sorry," Dee offered. Silence swept over the table.   
  
Unable to take the tension, Jenny stood up. "I'll be right back." She quickly made her way over to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She leaned back against it and stared uneasily at Julian who was sitting near the sink. "Why don't you ever go away?" she asked for the second time that day.  
  
He shook his head. "I don't know, Jenny. Why do you keep bringing me back?"  
  
She slowly slid to the floor and sat cross-legged on the tile. "I don't. You just come by yourself."   
  
Julian got off the sink and sat down in front of her. "It's pretty hard for a dead man to go anywhere. It's not me you're looking at Jenny...it's you."  
  
She leaned back against the door. "You're just a figment..."  
  
"That's right. I'm just an invisible shadow from your imagination. Regardless, if you want to get rid of me, then do it."  
  
"I would if I knew how."  
  
Julian grinned and rested his head on his hand. "So you want to play another game, Thorny-"  
  
"I wish you'd stop calling me that."  
  
"Does it irritate you?"  
  
"Immensely."   
  
Shrugging, he replied, "Well there's not much I can do about it. Now for our game...twenty questions. Question number one: Do you love Tom?"  
  
"Yes," she answered immediately.   
  
He leaned forward. "Question number two: Are you in love with Tom?" He raised his eyebrows at her silence. "Interesting."  
  
Jenny stood up furiously. "You know what, Julian? I've got better things to do than encourage my own insanity." She unlocked the door and threw it open. She flushed with embarrassment as the other customers glared at her loud entrance. She slinked back to her table and avoided eye contact with her friends.  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
7:00 p.m.  
  
Jenny drove up to her house and fought the urge to back right out into the street again. Julian was sitting on her porch. This was getting ridiculous. Since the whole ten years of her marriage she'd had these insane encounters but never three in one day. She was seriously considering calling a psychiatrist.   
  
She got out of her car reluctantly and stopped in front of the apparition that was eyeing her warily. "I'm crazy."  
  
"You sound pretty sure of that."  
  
"What else would you call it?"  
  
"Jenny, you're not crazy."  
  
She gave a trill laugh. "Well, of course you'd say that. People who are crazy always say that they're not."  
  
"But you think that you are," he pointed out.  
  
Confused, she remained quiet.  
  
He stood up. "You do need help. It's just not the kind you're thinking of."  
  
"What are you talking about now?" she asked wearily.  
  
"Jenny, out of all the people that you know, and have known, why is it me that you always see?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
He tapped her temple. "You're not thinking hard enough. What is it that I represent to you?"  
  
"Evil turned good?"  
  
"No," he said with frustration. "What feelings do I bring up for you? Do you remember all the emotions you felt when you were with me?" She murmured agreement.  
  
"How could I ever forget?"  
  
"And yet," Julian said, carefully, "you've been more than willing to live without those feelings for ten years." She looked at him blankly. He reached out and raised her chin. "The excitement, the passion, the love...things that you haven't felt since you married Tom."  
  
He held up a hand at her sputtering protest. "You always thought that you were in love with him, Jenny, but really it was just a feeling of obligation. You don't owe him anything. As a matter of fact you don't owe anything to anyone; except yourself. And the longer you're with him the more you fade away. Just look at you, Jenny. He's managed to put out your light. A glow that I thought was eternal."  
  
"He's a good guy..." she said doubtfully.  
  
He dropped his hand. "Yes, he is. But ask yourself...is it enough?"  
  
Truth dawned in her eyes and she looked away. "No," she whispered, "it isn't."  
  
She heard a rustling and looked back, but Julian was gone. This time she knew he wouldn't be coming back. After ten long years, Jenny knew what she had to do. She took the ring off her finger, pushed down the regret lodged in her throat, and walked inside the house where she knew Tom would be waiting for her.  
  
The End  
  
  
  
  



End file.
